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Pauley Perrette of ‘NCIS’ is Prime-Time’s Most Popular Star

The most popular actor in prime-time TV is (drum roll, please) . . . Pauley Perrette.

And if you’re asking yourself, “Who?” then you’re not one of the many millions who have made Perrette’s CBS series, “NCIS,” TV’s number one drama. Perrette, 42, plays forensic specialist Abby Sciuto on “NCIS.”

She emerged as the most popular actor (apparently, it’s become old hat to use the gender-specific word “actress” for female acting persons anymore) in one of the annual research studies conducted by Market Evaluations Inc., a market-research firm in Long Island, N.Y., that has long produced the so-called “Q” scores. The Q Scores – or Q Ratings – measure not only a show business personality’s popularity, but also his or her likability and trustworthiness among the public.

The scores are used most often by marketers looking for celebrities to appear in their advertising, including TV commercials – celebrities who people like and trust. This means Perrette can likely look forward to making a pile of money on the side in the lucrative advertising biz.

And so can some of her “NCIS” co-stars who also scored well in the Q’s, according to this story on EW.com. Cote de Pablo was ranked second, Mark Harmon was fourth, David McCallum was fifth and Michael Weatherly was seventh. Jim Parsons of “The Big Bang Theory” on CBS was third, while “Castle” star Nathan Fillion was sixth, the story said.